


Dandelions and permanent hugs

by etherphil



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Cute Ending, Flowers, Fluff, Freckles, M/M, Pastel Phil Lester, Pastel!Phil, Plantboy Phil Lester, Platonic Romance, Songfic, Strangers, plant!phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 11:26:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10989975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etherphil/pseuds/etherphil
Summary: AU - Daniel Howell is stolen glances under thick eyelashes and cold fingertips grazing on pale skin; Philip Lester is raspberry-stained crooked smiles and dandelion seeds timelessly hanging in sun rays.And as they collide, the only conclusion is for them to end up intertwined.





	Dandelions and permanent hugs

**Author's Note:**

> Please, be gentle with me.  
> Also, it's inspired by Dodie's "A Permanent Hug From You"

Dandelions and permanent hugs

_And raspberry seeds and warm jumpers too_

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Daniel curled his fingers sharply, trying to shake the crisp numbness that had taken control of his articulations before covering them with his thin shirt's sleeves. A happy sigh escaped his lips as the mid-May breeze ruffled his curly locks. Today was going to be a good day.

 

When he had awoken this morning, sun rays caressing his eyelids in gentle butterfly kisses, his first thoughts went to his dried plants collection. He had enjoyed the calm of lazy Saturday sunrises, herbal tea in silly mugs and bright lights dancing on his pale wallpapers and hummed melodies as he got his favourite button-up shirt on, straightening absent-mindedly its ivory collar. Gingerly, he had placed the sketch book he used to keep his new acquisitions (sticking them between thick yellowed pages to make sure they'd still be intact when he got home) in his battered bag and then, he was gone.

 

The train journey had passed in a blur and his combat boots soon trampled on the green grass he could associate only with the countryside. Daniel's knees were exposed to the wind and the young adult would never have dared to lie about how free it made him feel. His chocolate brown gaze followed a lilac tree branch as it shivered and he couldn't help himself but extend his arm to bring it closer to him, smiling fondly as he did so, amazed by the nature's gift's simple beauty. He examined each of its petals, brushing them gently with his cold fingertips before picking his most favourite flowers, careful not to damage them nor their sisters and never breaking the pinkish panicle's harmony.

 

His book back safely in his bag, he was ready to resume his treasure hunt when a happy bark pried his eyes away. And before he could even fathom what was happening, he got tackled to the ground by a furry creature. A throaty laugh escaped his mouth as he felt a slimy tongue lick his right ear and between his thick eyelashes, he was met with warm caramel eyes.

 

“Lion! No, no Lion, stop it!” Daniel heard a masculine voice he assumed belonged to the dog's owner and its Northern accent and molten gold tones sent a pleasant shiver down his spine. He pushed the Golden Retriever slightly in order to sit up a little and the pet nuzzled its pretty, pink nose in the crook of his neck.

 

“Good boy, good boy!” Daniel giggled while petting the animal, his fingers tangled in its fluffy fur. He peeked behind it and was met with sparkling cornflower blue eyes, cotton sunflower-patterned jumper and wild flowers crown braided through jet-black hair.

 

“Lion, come here my boy,” Flower Boy said and the dog finally listened. Its weight gone, Daniel sat up completely and took the extended hand that had just entered his sight in his, pulling his tall figure up. The stranger's palm was warm and soft and he found himself wishing it to never leave his own. “I am so, so sorry about that, he's still young and not properly trained,” the other smiled apologetically, their fingers still intertwined. Daniel cracked a smile and took back his hand reluctantly. The air was filled with lilac, freshly-cut grass and the whisper of what he associated with cinnamon. He inhaled the intoxicating aroma discreetly and his heart missed a beat.

 

“No worries, I love dogs,” he simply answered, shrugging, his voice steadier than he felt as his knees weakened at a rose-coloured tongue that peeked through Flower Boy's teeth. His gaze shied away and he got his ripped jeans rid of the grass that had stuck to their black fabric.

 

“Philly! Philly!” the two heard a high-pitched voice call before a little boy jumped on the stranger's back and Daniel saw him flinch slightly under the sudden weight, but his yellow Converses stayed in place. “Philly, 's that your friend?” the kid asked, pointing a grass-stained finger at Daniel and the corners of his lips twitched fondly at the forwardness that characterized most children. “He going to play with us, Philly?”

 

The stranger's eyes locked with his and Daniel momentarily forgot how to breathe or what he was even actually doing so far away from his city apartment. A twinkle of spontaneity sparked in his heart and he touched Flower Boy's sunflowered shoulder, whispering a mischievous “Tag, you're it” before running away towards the blossoming apple trees on the other side of the park.

 

Lion's golden ears were flapping beside him, an occasional happy bark covering the kid's giggles as he was trying to catch him too, despise not being “it”. They ran tirelessly, breath short and laughter lines engraved next to their eyes, exchanging knowing glances and secret smiles as their hands brushed during the playground game's course.

 

“Philly, hungry,” the little boy whined after awhile, arms extended as if to ask to be picked up. Flower Boy obliged, balancing the small body on his broad shoulders. His flower crown was crooked, but it didn't seem to bother him. Lion was panting next to them, wagging its tail lazily.

 

“I think it means it's time to go home, Mama was preparing spaghetti sauce for you this morning.”

 

“You going to eat home, Philly? Your friend too?” the tiny voice asked, clammy hands on Flower Boy's forehead and left cheek. That neither seemed to bother him.

 

“I can walk you home, but I don't want to bother,” Daniel said hesitantly and two crooked smiles answered him.

 

The house was not very far and their walk was punctuated with childish stories about school and dinosaurs and the pretty collages they has started last week-end. The streets were filled with singing birds and lawn mowers and Daniel wondered why he had ever decided to move to the city. When they got to a cosy looking baby blue house, vine laced softly around tall windows, Flower Boy put the child on the ground and let the dog free as it ran to grab an abandoned plastic toy, chewing on it while laying on the shadowed ground. Yellow tulips danced in the midday breeze next to dug up holes. It was charming.

 

The little boy had run to the door, smudging its off-white paint with grass-green stains before opening its ever-unlocked handle. A welcoming woman greeted them, her pale green dress soon also coloured with dirty little fingers.

 

“Philip, thank you so much for taking care of my baby boys this morning again! You're such an angel.” Her voice was like hot chocolate and compassionate back rubs on a rainy day and the chestnut brown strands of hair that escaped from her messy bun were curling slightly. “You're staying for lunch, right? And who's your friend? He looks lovely!”

 

“I am afraid I can't today, Mrs Lewis,” he glanced at Daniel, cornflower eyes visible through charmingly pale eyelashes, “but thank you for the invitation. It's always my pleasure to take care of Lion and this little monster.” The child laughed at the surname and Flower Boy – Philip hesitated before adding “and this is my friend...”

 

“Daniel. Daniel Howell, Madam.” Daniel's heart had flustered at the other's mention and his tone was as stupidly cheerful as the stupid grin plastered on his face.

 

“And he's polite too! May I invite you both in for a cup of tea? You must be thirsty after playing all morning,” the woman asked, freeing the entrance without waiting for their answer and making her way to a bright kitchen. The house smelled like fresh tomatoes and basil leaves, its walls covered in pastel colours and kids drawings. “Nathan, go wash your hands, they're covered with mud,” she added distantly and the little boy ran to the toilet without taking his dirty shoes off, soon followed by the sound of a squeaky toy and a wagging tail.

 

Daniel stood awkwardly in the front door entrance, stealing a glance towards his new-found friend, and their knuckles brushed hesitantly before Philip intertwined their pinkies without saying a word. They started to make their way inside the warm house and the door closed on its own behind them. The contact was dainty and he was so close Daniel could have traced constellations on the stranger's freckled cheekbones had he dared reaching over. He bit his lower lip and turned away to avoid the irrational temptation.

 

“Would you like some raspberries you picked yesterday while I put the kettle on? I know you love them Philip.” Her hand was already reaching for the fridge's handle and she quickly picked a huge bowl painted with pink peonies, filled with the tiniest berries Daniel had ever seen. It was as if they were glistening and he found himself thinking he would have liked to immortalize them as he did with the prettiest flowers and leaves he found, covering walls after walls of his small flat. They sat at the kitchen table, ivory embroidery matching with his button-up shirt and Philip's fingers traced one of the peonies' soft corolla before looking up at him, grin only half-hidden at the corner of his lips.

 

“You like flowers?” he asked softly and his eyelashes butterflied, his gaze never looking away. The kettle was boiling and Mrs Lewis took two ugly mugs from the cupboards. She poured the water directly on the tea leaves and its colour changed from translucent to a beautiful golden shade, cinnamon aromas intensifying and Flower Boy's pinky gripped tighter around his under the table in a mischievous complicity.

 

“Thank you Mrs Lewis,” Daniel said quietly and the woman smiled as an answer.

 

“I'll be looking on Nathan, 'cause it's when you don't hear him that you should wonder what the kid's up to. Be good, boys.” And she left the kitchen, her footsteps resonating through the walls as she made her way upstairs.

 

Philip's free hand grabbed honey from the table centrepiece and poured a generous amount of it in both of their hot beverages without asking Daniel what he thought of it.

 

“I love plants in general,” Daniel finally answered, popping a handful of the tiny berries in his mouth, their bright flavours exploding on his taste buds like fireworks. He hesitated and reached for his bag, taking his sketch book out, papyrus pages keeping his treasures safely. Meticulously, he opened it at a random page, dried clovers immortalized next to the messy scribbles he had engraved the day he had picked them up. He carefully angled the book towards the other whose eyes were twinkling in collusion.

 

“They're beautiful,” he heard him whisper and happiness filled his lungs, barely stopping the giggle that was bubbling in his chest from escaping his lips.

 

“Aren't they?” he confirmed, his tone as hush, like a secret confession. The tea had cooled down and Daniel drank it all, delicious honey tangled with cinnamon alike to apple crumble flavours.

 

“You can bring them home, Philly,” a familiar high-pitched voice exclaimed, accompanied by tiny barefoot jumps and happy panting.

 

“Yes Philip, you and Daniel can take the rest, this little guy has eaten enough for the next thousand years,” the woman smiled, taking the empty mugs from the table and placing them in the sink before taking the lid off her spaghetti sauce and stirring it, like the softest witch Daniel had ever witnessed.

 

“Thank you again Mrs Lewis,” Flower Boy said, taking the bowl in both of his hands and Daniel immediately missed the contact as their limbs got separated. “I'll see you tomorrow morning,” he added, sincere smile stretching his lips, heading out of the warmth of the house.

 

“Oh Philip, Vernon finished to repair your camera yesterday,” she interjected, handing the other boy a vintage-looking device, “he tweaked it a little, you should like it alright.”

 

He smiled sheepishly, “Could you thank him for me, too, Mrs Lewis?” and his hands full of the bowl of raspberries, he turned to Daniel, “Dan, could you put it in your bag, please?” The way his name rolled on his tongue made the boy in question shiver and he adjusted his button-up shirt's sleeves nervously before obliging, both of their precious belongings so close it gave him an impression of forbidden intimacy.

 

Daniel waved silently goodbye, his throat too tight to say another word, pat Lion's soft head and they headed outside once again, comfortable silence between the two of them now that they were alone.

 

“Can I show you something?” Philip's melted caramel voice asked after awhile and their eyes met briefly before he nodded in agreement. At this point, he was ready to go anywhere. They turned on the bicycle path and their shoulders brushed as a couple of cyclists past by them, freckles darkening. “We're here,” Philip announced simply as they reached a row of tall trees that somehow seemed a little less close to one another than the ones they had encountered until now, an empty green and yellow clearing hidden behind it. “I've never showed this place to anyone else before.” Dandelion heads and clovers were dancing under the caress of the wind.

 

They sat down and ate berries until there weren't any left, their laughs seed-decorated and painted in pinkish red. Daniel extended his legs and his back touched the soft grass bellow him. His left hand reached for the clouds, pointing a particularly big one as if to touch its cotton floss texture.

 

“It's a maple leaf,” he whispered, not wanting to disturb their serenity. Flower Boy grabbed a dandelion puff between his index and thumb and blew on it, all the seeds scattering across Daniel's figure like a thousand specks of cosmic dust, a cheeky grin painted on his delicate features.

 

“It's a cloud,” he answered, warm voice as hush, before laying next to him, “but it does look like a maple leaf.” His face was turned towards his and never his gaze had directed itself towards the sky. Daniel's face rolled on the side as well, his hand falling back to the ground, cheek on the bed of clovers, noses almost touching, cornflower blue meeting chocolate brown. One, two, three, four, Daniel could now count the pale beauty marks, like spangled with stars.

 

They were not cold, but they pretended they were, shuffling a bit closer, and he felt Philip interlace their fingers, the glittery nail of his thumb grazing gentle floral impressions.

 

“My favourite colour is blue.”

“I studied creative literature.”

“I am a vegetarian.”

“I don't have my license.”

 

Their breaths mingled in intimacy, Philip grabbed another dandelion with his free hand and brought it close to his raspberry-stained lips. “Make a wish,” he murmured. He was beautiful. They waited a few seconds, none of them sharing their thoughts but assuredly they were similar in that instant. He blew on the seeds again and it was as if time had stopped while they stayed suspended between time and space. It felt like a dream and Daniel wished to never wake up from that alternate reality he had been forced into.

 

“I have never seen the ocean.”

“I hate tomatoes.”

“I think you are terribly attractive.”

“I take my coffee black.”

 

They talked all afternoon, never daring to glance at the time, and too soon, the clear blue sky embraced the pink colours of the sunset and they reluctantly got up. The temperature had dropped as they made their way to the train station, hands full of multiple dandelions between their intertwined fingers.

 

“Thanks so much for the beautiful day,” Daniel started as they reached their destination. He would have given everything to not return to his city reality.

 

“That's alright, I hope you get back okay,” Philip answered, lowering his gaze, pale eyelashes brushing against his cheeks. A few seconds passed. “Can I–” he paused, lips slightly ajar, “Can I take a photograph? As a... reminder of my time with you.”

 

Daniel nodded silently, throat tight at what it implied, and reached for his battered bag, taking the old camera from its place next to his sketch book and tending it to Flower Boy who took it with both of his hands. He quickly put the yellow flowers loosely in a separate pocket before giving them a hint of a smile, heart aching with a dull pain as this moment was immortalized.

 

“In fact, it's pretty dark, it's pretty chilly out there tonight,” the other added, shaking the Polaroid picture in a gentle motion, waiting for the colours to appear, eyes glued on their shoes. Bright yellow Converses and black combat boots somehow mixing harmoniously on the pavement.

 

Daniel hesitated briefly, his teeth nibbling at his lower lip, and tilted his friend's face up, their irises woven together. “I'll be fine, I'll be smiling all the way. Shivering maybe, but that's okay because I've got the memories to keep me happy and warm.” He could feel the other's breath against his lips and sighed almost inaudibly.

 

“Take my jumper,” Philip started after awhile, his honey-tone was so quiet he could have passed as the summer breeze, “wear it, you'll need it on the train home. And everyone will know that I've been in love tonight.”

 

“It's like a permanent hug from you,” Daniel whispered as an answer, holding a thousand secrets shared only between the two of them. His friend started to remove the sunflower-patterned jumper and passed it on both of their heads. It smelled like cinnamon sweets and solar cream. “Thank you, this was the most fun I've ever had.”

 

_And maybe, perhaps, it had been the most in love he had ever been, too._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading it until the end, I really hope you guys liked it, this is my very first phanfiction and I am quite happy with its outcome. Leave kudos if you'd like to motivate me into writing a sequel - or anything else for that matter. Comments are also greatly appreciated. Until then xx


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